One Year

One year ago today, I started this blog by telling everyone that Lori and I were going to Paris for six months. Well, it's been twelve months and we're still here and we're still having fun. The blog was supposed to be a temporary way to stay in touch with friends and family by posting pictures and updates of our travels. In fact, I threw it together so fast, I didn't put much thought into the name or design. I wasn't expecting to be writing it a year later and I certainly wasn't expecting thousands of page views from around the world. I can track the statistics and the single most popular post was when Lori and I battled the washing machine on our first day in Paris.

Dennis & Lori vs. The Washing Machine

It's also been a great way to document our adventure. I recently browsed through all of the posts and there were several things I had forgotten. I find it funny that we had so much trouble getting to the airport for our trip to Strasbourg. We are so much better at navigating the city now.

The Bloom is Off The Rose

Actually, everything seems easier now. That's because we've learned from so many mistakes and because our French has improved greatly. We are still a long, long way from being fluent tough. I had hoped to be further along than I am, but I have no one to blame but myself. I need to work on it and I need to force myself to overcome my shyness and speak to others. I can get by in a store or restaurant, but when I had to go to the police station to fill out a report for the break-in, I struggled.

Welcome Home

One thing is for sure, our travels have slowed down. We thought we only had six months to visit as many places as we could, so we were on the go constantly. Now that we've been extended, we don't feel the same sense of urgency. We enjoy traveling but we also enjoy our quiet weekends at home. Unfortunately a quiet weekend at home doesn't make for good reading, so the posts have slowed down as well. We need more visitors to come to us.

db